resolve_variable_by_name

Find variable IDs by name to bind design tokens like 'base-100' or 'primary' in Figma, enabling precise component styling and design system management.

Instructions

Find a variable ID by its name. Useful for binding variables when you know the semantic name (e.g., 'base-100', 'primary').

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`name`	Yes	The name of the variable to find (e.g., 'base-100', 'primary', 'neutral')
`collectionName`	No	Optional: Filter by collection name

Implementation Reference

src/talk_to_figma_mcp/tools/modification-tools.ts:629-661 (registration)

Registration of the MCP tool 'resolve_variable_by_name' using server.tool(). Includes tool description, Zod input schema (name: string, optional collectionName: string), and handler that proxies the request to Figma via sendCommandToFigma and returns the JSON result or error message.

server.tool(
  "resolve_variable_by_name",
  "Find a variable ID by its name. Useful for binding variables when you know the semantic name (e.g., 'base-100', 'primary').",
  {
    name: z.string().describe("The name of the variable to find (e.g., 'base-100', 'primary', 'neutral')"),
    collectionName: z.string().optional().describe("Optional: Filter by collection name")
  },
  async ({ name, collectionName }) => {
    try {
      const result = await sendCommandToFigma("resolve_variable_by_name", {
        name,
        collectionName
      });
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: JSON.stringify(result, null, 2)
          }
        ]
      };
    } catch (error) {
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: `Error resolving variable: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`
          }
        ]
      };
    }
  }
);

src/talk_to_figma_mcp/tools/modification-tools.ts:636-660 (handler)

The handler function executes the tool logic by sending a 'resolve_variable_by_name' command to the Figma plugin via websocket, stringifies the result as text response, or returns an error message.

async ({ name, collectionName }) => {
  try {
    const result = await sendCommandToFigma("resolve_variable_by_name", {
      name,
      collectionName
    });
    return {
      content: [
        {
          type: "text",
          text: JSON.stringify(result, null, 2)
        }
      ]
    };
  } catch (error) {
    return {
      content: [
        {
          type: "text",
          text: `Error resolving variable: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`
        }
      ]
    };
  }
}

src/talk_to_figma_mcp/tools/modification-tools.ts:632-635 (schema)

Zod schema defining the input parameters for the tool: required 'name' (string) and optional 'collectionName' (string).

{
  name: z.string().describe("The name of the variable to find (e.g., 'base-100', 'primary', 'neutral')"),
  collectionName: z.string().optional().describe("Optional: Filter by collection name")
},

CC Fig MCP